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She Shed–McCarthy Style

I am working out in McCarthy, Alaska right now. It doesn’t get any better than this. I am stitching away in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. This is our cabin looking pretty spiffy with a new paint job. Around back on the right side is my studio.

I wrote about my McCarthy Sewing Studio several summers ago, and I think it is time for revisit. Earlier this summer, I posted a photo of the doors to my McCarthy studio on Instagram and tooheycohen commented, “You making a She Shed?”

I didn’t even know that term existed, but it is a real thing. There’s more than 42,688 images with the hashtag #sheshed. Sometimes I think I must be living under an ironing board.

So yes, I have a She Shed. Not as fancy as these decked out numbers, but it is highly functional.

My “shed” originally stored a Model-T Ford circa 1920. We divided the space so the front half of the former garage is my studio and the back is storage.

I debated about cleaning the space up for you folks to look at, but I decided not to. Which means this what the studio looks like when several quilts are in progress.

The space is about 10 feet by 14 feet with the design wall located on the longest wall. In fact, this design wall is bigger then the walls I have in Anchorage.

We finally fully attached the felt covering to this wall. The only drawback is the support beam in the middle of the room, but I am not complaining.

The wall is not level. How do we know that? Well, he wall is covered in a squared piece of fabric. Look at the lower edge of the design wall–that is the lack of squared-ness. You can expect a bit of settling with a 100 year old house built in a sub-arctic climate.

The gaps in the wood provide alovely breeze but prohibit winter time use of this space. I must always remember to pin everything on the design wall down. More than once, I have showed up the next day to find that my work has been blown all over the place.

On a hot day, the sunlight twinkles through.

My friends know that if the barn doors are up, they are welcome to stop by. We chat while I work.

The space is powered by the sun.Thank you Sustainable Arts Foundation for granting me the funds to buy the solar system that powers my iron.

Since the last time I wrote about my plein air studio, I got a new sewing table and new flooring.

My husband hauled every bit of this studio out here and installed it for me. Thank you Walt.

It is good for the locals to know, that If you stop in the middle of the road to gossip, I will hear you.

It is good for the tourists to know, that as much as it may look like I am doing a Silver Dollar City Re-enactment—I am not

Thank you for the food recommendation. I will look Leo’s up. I have a dear friend in Grand Rapids and I truly enjoy teaching for AQS, so I know that teaching experience will be great. That is exactly what I hope those green triangles look like!

Good questions Vivien- We have voles in our woodshed, and this past winter for the first time ever, we had mice/voles in our cabin. I have not seen any evidence of them in my studio. The only problem I have had so far is that the pins I leave in the design wall rust and the rotary blades do too. At times, we do have flies and mosquitoes. I will burn a mosquitoe ring if I have too. Thank you Vivien!

Thank you for the studio visit and I look forward to watching the green and black project grow. I have been meaning to send you an email to thank you for your excellent book which I purchases a few months ago but only got around to reading this month. I am not sure wether I will become an improve quilter, I try never to say never. This month I have been working on a quilt that uses applique and patchwork, my favourite, the border I am just finishing has square in a square blocks using 1″ finishing to 1/2″ strips. Reading in your book how to cut accurate strips using the ruler and the lines on my cutting board plus how to press properly means no fudging, they fit together perfectly. Thank you.

Maria, I love that you don’t let a few ventilating cracks in the walls, or neighbors stopping in slow down your creativity. I am a former Anchorage gal myself, and really enjoyed the times I went to McCarthy to escape the “big city.” That was in the 1980s.

Wow. That means you took the tram across! My first visit was in 2001 and I have been coming back every year. In 2009 we got the cabin and the rest is history. Unfortunately, it has started dumping rain, so I will be moving the stitching into the living room where there is a cozy fire. Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you join us at Quilted Strait. It sounds like a wonderful venue. I have heard only good things about it. I don’t know about that tram. I have seen photos of people hauling all kinds of stuff. Just dangling there over the raging Kennicott!

I signed up this morning for your workshop at Quilted Strait! Looking forward to getting the supply list! I cannot wait to meet you and enjoy the quilting adventure! Pt. Gamble/Quilted Strait is a wonderful venue! I have taken several workshops there, including 3 of Gwen Marston’s multiple-day workshops. The tram crossing was a bit harrowing, but so worth it. And, yes, you cannot believe what people hauled across.